Water displacer starter for outlet siphons



Oct. 17, 1950 w. J. M GlNNls 2 WATERDISPLACER STARTER FOR ou'rus'r SIPHONS Filed June 6, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Oct. 17, 1950 WATER DISPLACER STARTER FOR OUTLET SIPHONS. William J. McGinnis, Philadeliihiaia. Application June 6, 19'46,SerialNo. 674,805 7 (0.1. 4-47) 2 Claims.

My invention-relates to new and useful water .disp'lacer starters for outlet siphons and the like and has for one of its objects to simplify the construction of the control means for the. outlet of tanks used for supplying a predetermined. amount of liquid, such as Water, to a location of use, such as the flush bowl of a toilet.

Another object of the invention is to employ a siphon as a part of the outlet from a liquid tank and provide unio uev means, including a ball cock valve and its control float, to start the siphonic action after an initial manual operation and thereafter automatically govern, the. completion of the siphonic action and. the shutting off of; the water supply to the tank.-

A further object of this: invention'k-is to provide a device of the kind mentioned-that permits the use of a narrower tank than usmalv in devices of thischaracter with the-accruing advantage of occupying less space sidewise. p

A still further object of the present invention -.is-topr-ovide a novel valve operating mechanism.

With the above and other objects in View this invention consists of the details of construction and combination of elementsset forth and then designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled iii-the art, to which this invention .appertains mayj-imderstand how,

to make and use thexsame-lwil-l describe its construction: in detail referring by numerals. to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in v which 1 Fig. l is a front elevation of a flush toilet structure to illustrate the connections and relationship between the parts.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical section of the tank showing themechanism therein, in the shut-off position.

Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the mechanism in the starting position and in the full open position in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is .a section on the line i4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 of a slightly different arrangement of the operating mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a side view, partly in section, of the v float ball depressing trigger and stirrup.

Fig. 7 is a section on the 1ine.'|1 of Fig. 6. In carrying out my invention as herein embodied I represents a tank,'in. this case a flush tank, composed of the body or tank proper H with a cover [2 thereon. From the bottom of the tank leads an outlet pipe l3 to a flu h bowl M, for purposes of illustration, while an inlet pipe I leads to the upper portion of one side of the tank where it is connected considerable metal. a

to a ball cock valve [-6 having a shank 1-! that projects through the tank side wall and to which the inlet pipe is actually attached, and constitutes the body of the valve, w-hich'canbe small enough to save As shown in Fig. '2, the ball cock valve has a plug t8 for controlling the flow of fluid through the valve and to the refill -pipe. 19 leading from the val' e to a locationadjacent the bottom of the tank. Cooperating with the valve plug !8 is a valve stem 20 controlled or actuated by the float ball rod 2! provided with a finger tifor' a float 26 on its outer or free endflsaid rod 21! has one-or more notches 2 7 in longitudinal spaced relation along its upper surface, for a. purpose tobe presently described. I

' On. the inside of the tank is .a siphon 28. having the outlet leg connected to the outlet pipe 3 with the inlet leg terminating adjacent the bottom of the tank. An operating shaft; 29- is journalled in the front wall of tank and a bearing 30 on the siphon 28;; The outer end of, the shaft 29 projects through an lescutcheon 3i fixedon the outside of the front wall of the tank and.:prjo vided with shoulders 5.2 andi'sv to limitthe move- :ments of a "handle .36 fastened to theouter end of said shaft 2.9. Thehandle Btshouldbe heavy enough to return it to .a normally perpendicular position but if not-Ian additional. weight 135 :is fixed to the shaft, which weight will be sufficiently hefty to rotate the shaft with any associated elements for urging the handle to the pendant position.

On the shaft 29 directly above the rod 2| is fixed a float ball depressing trigger 36 that may have a longitudinal channel 31 in a portion of its underside for registration with the rod 2| and forming a contact edge 38, Fig. 6, for engagement with the notches 21, under certain conditions to be presently described. A stirrup 39 is swingingly connected to the depressing trigger 36 and hangs from the latter to partially surround the rod 2! and cooperate therewith to limit the descent of the rod 2| and its float-26.

In the structure illustrated in Fig. 5 there is a secondary member 40 associated with the depressing trigger. Said secondary member directly operates the ball cock valve by being attached to or formed with the valve stem 28. The secondary member in has an elongated aperture 4| to permit a to-and-fro movement of said secondary member over the shaft 29 and also has an arcuate slot 42 into which projects a pin 43 carried by the depressing trigger 36.

In operation, when the float 26 is raised by the liquid in the tank as the water level reaches the location 44 in Fig. 2, said float, through the medium of the rod 2|, finger 22, pin 23 and valve stem 20, will close the ball cock valve [6 :and shut off the flow of liquid to the tank. T0

empty the tank, the handle 34 is moved to the left, according to the illustration herein. This will rotate the shaft 29 and the depressing finger 36 until it forces the rod 21 and float 26 down- 'ward causing the float to be submerged and at the same time partly opens the ball cock valve.

The water displaced by the float plus the water entering through the ball cock valve will raise the water level to the position 45, Fig. 3, and fill the crown of the siphon so that water will flow from the tank by the siphonic action. During the initial operation or upon the actuation of the handle 34, the edge 38 of the depressing trigger 36 will enter one of the notches 21 and .because of the buoyancy of the float the parts will temporarily remain in the locked position. This also opens the ball cock'valve [6 so that water enters the tank through the refill tube i9.

As the water level descends to a point about or just below that indicated at 46, Fig. 3, the rod 2| will be released from the depressing trigger and descend with the water until the level 41, Fig. 3, is reached. The rod and float will then be suspended by the stirrup 39 as the water level recedes further.

The releasing of the depressing trigger permits it to be returned to the substantially horizontal position as the handle assumes its vertical location and when the water level descends below the short leg of the siphon the siphonio action will cease and the tank will be practically empty. Water will continue to flow through the ball cock valve and refill tube into the tank and gradually refill the latter. When the float is returned to its position by the rise of the water level, the ball cock valve will be closed to shut off the water supply to the tank and the apparatus will be ready for the next operation.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

1. A water displacer starter for an outlet siphon comprising a tank having an inlet at one side adjacent the top thereof and an outletv leading from the bottom of said tank, a ball cock valve connected to said inlet and including a valve stem, 2. float rod having its inner end pivoted adjacent the ball cock valve below the same, a float on the outer free end of said rod, a finger fixed to said rod and having a longitudinal slot therein and projectin along side of the stem of the ball cock, a pin on said stem projecting into the slot in the finger whereby motion is transmitted from said float rod to the valve stem, a siphon within the tank in the region of the outer free end of the float rod and having one leg connected to the tank outlet and the other leg terminating adjacent the interior surface of the bottom of said tank, a shaft bearing on said siphon, a shaft having one end journalled in said bearing and the other end projecting through and journalled in one of the upright walls of said tank, a handle on the projecting end of the shaft to rotate the same, and a depressing trigger fixed on said shaft and engaging the outer end portion of the float rod to swing said float rod downwardly when the handle is actuated, said float rod having a notch with which the depressing trigger registers temporarily upon depression of the float rod.

2. The water displacer'starter for an outlet siphon according to claim 1, in combination with a U-shaped stirrup having its upper ends pivoted to the depressing finger below the shaft and partially surrounding the outer end portion of the float rod to limit its descent.

' WILLIAM J. McGINN'IS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Crampton Feb. 25, 1941 

